Spring Break
My Spring Weekend Nightmare
A Firsthand Account Of Sexual Assault On 'The Rape Trail'
Melissa Bruen
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: News
I called a friend at around 1 a.m. and asked her to pick me up at the end of the path by Northwest. I had three beers and two screwdrivers. It was while I was on the phone, sitting on the ground with my back against a telephone pole in order to hear her, that I was picked up by my shoulders, pinned up against the pole and "dry humped" by a stranger. At first I thought it was one of my friends' attempt at humor, until I heard the man moaning.
I hung up the phone, and shoved the man off me. I am 5'5". He was around 5'11".
"My, aren't we feisty tonight," he said.
--
I was assaulted when I was very young - I wasn't about to let it happen again. When he came toward me, I grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him down to the ground. I held onto his shoulders and climbed on top to straddle him. He started thrashing side to side, but I was able to hit him with a closed fist, full force, in the face.
A small crowd had gathered, mostly men. Now they seemed shocked. I was supposed to have been a victim, and I was breaking out of the mold. I hit him in the stomach, while clenching my legs around him to prevent another man from pushing me off. In all, it took three men to pull me off my assailant.
He got up and ran off, yelling at me, as if I were the would-be rapist.
"You just assaulted me," I yelled in my own defense - first to him and then, to anyone who would listen, "He just assaulted me."
Since the police were shutting down the parties at Celeron, there were thousands of people on the path.
Another man, around 6'1", approached me and said, "You think that was assault?" and he pulled down my tube top, and grabbed my breasts. More men started to cheer. It didn't matter to the drunken mob that my breasts were being shown or fondled against my will. They were happy to see a topless girl all the same. I punched him in the face, and someone shoved me into a throng of others. I was surrounded, but I kept swinging and hitting until I was able to break free of the circle they had formed.
I hung up the phone, and shoved the man off me. I am 5'5". He was around 5'11".
"My, aren't we feisty tonight," he said.
--
I was assaulted when I was very young - I wasn't about to let it happen again. When he came toward me, I grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him down to the ground. I held onto his shoulders and climbed on top to straddle him. He started thrashing side to side, but I was able to hit him with a closed fist, full force, in the face.
A small crowd had gathered, mostly men. Now they seemed shocked. I was supposed to have been a victim, and I was breaking out of the mold. I hit him in the stomach, while clenching my legs around him to prevent another man from pushing me off. In all, it took three men to pull me off my assailant.
He got up and ran off, yelling at me, as if I were the would-be rapist.
"You just assaulted me," I yelled in my own defense - first to him and then, to anyone who would listen, "He just assaulted me."
Since the police were shutting down the parties at Celeron, there were thousands of people on the path.
Another man, around 6'1", approached me and said, "You think that was assault?" and he pulled down my tube top, and grabbed my breasts. More men started to cheer. It didn't matter to the drunken mob that my breasts were being shown or fondled against my will. They were happy to see a topless girl all the same. I punched him in the face, and someone shoved me into a throng of others. I was surrounded, but I kept swinging and hitting until I was able to break free of the circle they had formed.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 104
- Nameless
posted 5/02/08 @ 1:45 PM EST
I'm happy you fought back, drunkenness is no excuse. I was forcibly kissed and grabbed this weekend and being to drunk to push away I couldn't do anything but utter the words "no" over and over again. (Continued…)
Nameless
posted 5/02/08 @ 2:27 PM EST
Thank you for being the voice of the silenced.
Pat
posted 5/02/08 @ 2:29 PM EST
Good for you in defending yourself. It's a shame that so few around you tried to help.
Maureen
posted 5/02/08 @ 2:57 PM EST
This story seems like a graduating journalist's cry for fame. If I'm mistaken, then I am sorry, but I don't buy into any of it. Sweet picture on the front page, and nice "swimmer's build," but I feel sorry for anyone who is actually a victim of assault and doesn't have such a romanticized story to tell. (Continued…)
Bill Rose
posted 5/02/08 @ 4:28 PM EST
Five drinks makes you too drunk to drive a car, but it doesn't make you too drunk to get the facts of your story wrong. I think your story rings true and I'm so sorry it happened. (Continued…)
Orlando
posted 5/02/08 @ 5:30 PM EST
That takes courage to write an article like that. Hopefully, and I think it will, at least one person (if not more) will think about this story while walking alone next Spring Weekend or any weekend for that matter. (Continued…)
saturn2187
Craig
posted 5/02/08 @ 6:07 PM EST
Wow. I guess this just goes to show that when these warnings about the dangers of spring weekend are espoused, the "it can't happen to me" reigns. In no way am I saying you deserved it, as the guys were clearly assholes and deserved to be punished, but Uconn needs to do something to address the problem. (Continued…)
Jaime
posted 5/02/08 @ 6:14 PM EST
Thank you for putting your story out there. It keeps us aware that no matter how many police and school officials are there we still need to look out for ourselves and know to fight back. (Continued…)
Thomas
posted 5/02/08 @ 6:29 PM EST
I have talked with a number of people about this topic, and I am torn between talking about this between two different ways.
Let me first start off by saying that I feel sorry for what happened. (Continued…)
Sara
posted 5/02/08 @ 6:48 PM EST
I agree with Thomas. It was very brave for her to come out and tell her story, but I believe that it could have be done more tastefully. First, the phrase on the tee-shirt distracts the reader from the story. (Continued…)
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